Last Laugh: Super-reality

I've never been a fan of the new generation of talent quests - Idol and its ilk. As I've written in the past, the real talent involved in these shows is Simon Cowell's ability to turn a tired, age-old concept into a multi-million dollar, worldwide phenomenon simply through the use of his Bernard King-style bitchiness (remember Pot Luck anyone?).

But finally a talent quest has arrived that I can support. America's Sci-Fi channel is currently holding auditions for season two of its outrageously nerdy talent quest - Who Wants to be a Superhero?

The show invites hopefuls to audition, Idol style, at malls across the country. There they present their superhero concept - in character (it's like that scene from Mystery Men, but for real). The list is whittled down to finalists who appear in the TV series.

The finalists are then put through a variety of hero tasks set by legendary comic book creator Stan Lee (Spider-Man, Hulk, Fantastic Four, X-Men and just about every other Marvel hero you can think of).

The eventual winner becomes the star of a comic book and a Sci-Fi channel film.

I love this concept for two reasons: one, because it gives the type of people who would never make it on to other talent search shows a chance to shine, and two, because you can view the whole thing effectively as a satire of the whole Idol phenomenon.

What else can you say about a show where the last winner's special power was the ability to absorb skills from video games* and the runner up ("Fat Momma") gained special powers from eating donuts? How would Simon Cowell react to that?

If you fancy giving the superhero game a crack (and you live in the US), you can download the application form here. There's a few of the usual name-and-address details to fill out, then about ten pages of questions about your superhero. So contestants have to put a lot of thought into it (and judging by the costumes at the auditions, they certainly do).

With the new US hit Heroesabout to start on Seven, 2007 is shaping up as a great year for geeks.

Got a concept for a hero, but can't be bothered filling out a ten-page application form? Post a comment below.

*Last year's winner was a bloke named Matthew Atherton - a software engineer. Are you surprised?